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Chance Rugani
Chancellor Elias Rugani, '''better known by his ring name '''Chance Rugani '''is a retired Brazilian-American professional wrestler best known for his debut in Pure Wrestling Industry where he would quickly rise to fame, only for the federation to fold before his scheduled championship match. Rugani later signed with World Elite Wrestling and found breakout stardom in 2012. In WEW, Rugani was a three-time WEW Champion and one-time Universal Champion; Rugani also holds the longest combined reign in the WEW Championship's history. He was also notable for his time as the on-screen WEW President, a role he relinquished on November 12, 2012. At the 2nd Annual WEW Awards, Rugani won six awards, the most of any one male competitor in a single night in the company's history, including the most prestigious "Superstar of the Year." Overall, Rugani is the most awarded competitor in WEW with 11 career awards, including a win for "Elitist of the Year." In 2014, he was ranked the "Greatest Elitist Ever" by the WEW Top 10 lists. Training Chance Rugani began his training in the StarrDome at the age of 19. The other founder, Alakai Burke, said this about Chance as he started out, "I can tell he's got real heart, but he has a lot to learn because he has this naive edge about him." However, due to his attitude not many companies expressed interest in him until a Pure Wrestling Industry representative saw him as an Indy's show and signed him immediately to a contract. Head Trainer In 2016, Rugani returned to his roots at the StarrDome Wrestling Academy to assume the position of Head Trainer at the request of Zharya Burke. Rugani retains this position to this day and, with the assistance of his coaching staff, oversees the training of a new class of wrestlers. Pure Wrestling Industry (2011) Chance made his debut on PWI at their Above the Limits pay-per-view event, defeating an undefeated Raven Payne in a Hardcore Match, his specialty, after diving off the top of the titantron and onto Raven. From that moment on, management took a lot of interest in him after positive reviews poured in from the match, and placed him in a "One Shot" match against fourteen other competitors for a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship. Although Chance was kicked under the ring ropes mid-match, he was not eliminated, and after Kris Six thought he had the match won, Chance would sneak back into the ring and throw Kris over the top rope to secure the victory and his #1 contendership, thus cementing himself as a heel. However, seeing as how the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Kinley Beau, was heel, his heel run was cut short and he was forced to turn into more of a neutral party as he was set up in a storyline with Kinley Beau and her stable, Les Femmes D'or. Chance had developed a backstage romance with wrestler Sophie Oliveira, and instantly, Les Femmes D'or took to this, extending an invitation to Sophie for her to join Les Femmes D'or. Sophie remained undecided as Chance went on a quest to defeat each member of Les Femmes D'or, the stipulation being that if he beat them, they would be barred from ringside at his World Heavyweight Championship match at Hardcore Brewtality. Although Chance defeated the first member, Giselle Stratten, and remained undefeated in his tenure at PWI, the storyline was cut short as the federation folded a few weeks later. World Elite Wrestling (2011-) Championship Tournament Attacks In early 2011 Rugani signed a contract to World Elite Wrestling, which was owned by his former trainer Alakai Burke. Chance made his debut on WEW's mini-show Burnout, defeating Justin Stein, but a mere week later he revealed himself to be the man who was attacking members of the WEW Championship trounament in spite of not being entered himself, claiming he was better than the competitors in the tournament, and was doing the crowd a favor by injuring them. Later on in the main event, Chance made an appearance after Jordan Zachary defeated Jason Krow to get his spot in the finals for the WEW Championship, but before anything could be done, Jamie Hayden, a man whom Chance Rugani injured to the point where he had to take leave of absence, interrupted and the two began to brawl. Chance ended it by kicking Jamie in his bad knee and throwing him out of the ring, but merely turned around to receive a superkick to the chin. The next week Chance opted not to face Jason Krow in his scheduled match, but instead get a head start to Phoenix where the pay-per-view was happening that he wasn't booked for. Later on at Free Fall to Fury, WEW's inaugural pay-per-view event, Chance made an appearance his girlfriend, Sophie Oliveria's, championship match against Sayge Jemson, attempting to help her win but was unsuccessful. Later on in the night after the main event, Chance capitalized on the two fallen Championship contenders and attacked Jordan Zachary; however, before he could attack Kameron Copeland, Evan Bourne made the save. Feud with Evan Bourne and Jamie Hayden The owner then announced that Evan and Chance would be facing off in a tables match in the main event of Animosity the next week. The following week, just as Evan Bourne was going to commit his Air Bourne finisher onto Chance who was laid on top of a table, Jordan Zachary interfered and knocked Evan off. Chance went to capitalize, but just as he was going to hit his "Final Touch" finisher, Jordan pushed both men off of the top rope and into the table, causing the match to end in a no contest. Afterwards on WEW.com it was announced that Rugani would be a special guest referee in a match featuring Evan Bourne facing off against Jordan Zachary. Rugani interfered on Jordan's behalf, but immediately following the match he attacked Jordan. Out of nowhere, Jamie Hayden, the man who Rugani injured, returned and attacked him. The following week, Rugani was teamed up with Jaxson Baxter in a successful bout against Rugani's two enemies, Evan Bourne and Jamie Hayden, after Jaxson pinned Hayden. It was announced the next week that Rugani would face off against Jamie at the pay-per-view in a match of the fans choice. The fans chose for Rugani and Hayden to fight in a Fans Get Involved Match, meaning anyone in the arena could get involved in the match-up, and when they did try to interfere, it was trying to help Jamie. However towards the end of the match, two muscular men hopped out of the crowd just as Jamie was getting the upperhand and beat him down to allow Chance the momentum once again and ultimately allowing Chance to win the match with Jamie's career on the line. Jamie was now fired from WEW, ending the rivalry, and Chance spit on Jamie's unconscious body before leaving the ring. Various Feuds & Originals vs. New Breed The next week, Chance and Jaxson Baxter teamed together, for one last time before Jaxson left the company, against The Promise and Evan Bourne in a victorious effort after Jaxson pinned Promise. A week later, after the main event of Animosity was cancelled, Chance and Sophie attacked the WEW Champion, James Kash from behind. The following week the two were defeated in a tag team match by Kash and the WEW Universal Champion, Brie Bella. Chance competed in a King of the Ring first round match against new Universal Champion SM Raye, but the match was not started when the New Breed attempted to attack both 'Originals.' The match was rescheduled for the next week, and Chance lost to SM, however it was announced merely hours after the loss that Priscilla Oliveira had reinstated Chance into the tournament. The following week Chance lost to Vantage and suffered an acute injury after the match that would keep him out of action for three weeks. Chance returned to Animosity as himself, Sophie, and their Originals stablemate Giselle Stratten defeated the New Breed members Kinley Beau, Blackout, and Angela Fortin. After missing a few more weeks of action, Rugani was defeated by Patrick Evans after a distraction was caused when Sophie was knocked off of the ring apron. Two weeks later he lost the "enemies become partners" themed week when Sophie pinned his partner Keira Fisher due to his interference on Sophie's behalf. WEW President After weeks of hyping a special surprise to be unveiled after the Winter Warzone pay-per-view event, Chance finally revealed that he was hired as the new WEW President after Sophie successfully defended her WEW Championship. As his first act of duty, Chance scheduled himself in the WEW Championship match against Sophie Oliveira, but the two spent most of the match using sexual moves in the ring, bringing the crowd to boo them, and it ended with Chance laying down for Sophie to climb atop him and pin him. Chance lost an intergender "Enemies Become Partners" match after costing his team the match by grabbing Keira Fisher by the hair and pulling her down to the mat to allow Sophie to pin her. Feud with Jaxson Baxter and WEW Championship Chance stayed off of television until he reappeared on the Animosity after the Countdown to Demise pay-per-view, where he was scene in a backstage vignette with Jaxson Baxter about his status in the company, hinting at a feud between the two. Later on in the night, he was pinned in a tag team match by Alistar Bane, and was later attacked post-match by his partner, the Universal Champion, Vantage; this led to a match between Vantage and Chance, a match where Chance won. Chance decided to try and make an example of Jaxson Baxter and gave him a 2-on-1 Handicap WEW Championship match, but Chance was forced to submit and lost Sophie's championship to Jaxson without Sophie being involved in it. The following week the two had an in-ring segment at the start of the show where Chance announced to Sophie that there would be a Fatal Four-Way match between the new WEW Champion, Jaxson Baxter, himself, Sophie (using her rematch clause), and the person with physical possession of the championship, Ligeia Cariosus. Later on in the night, Oliveira and Rugani were defeated once again by Jaxson and Ligeia when Ligeia and Sophie's interference distracted to the point where Jaxson took control of the match and won. At the WEW Retribution pay-per-view event, Chance pinned Jaxson Baxter in the Fatal Four-Way match to gain the WEW Championship as well as his first championship in WEW and his first championship in wrestling. Two weeks later on Animosity, Rugani retained his championship in Baxter's rematch, ending their feud. Road to WEW Legacy; Feud with Cody Taylor After Chance's match with a retiring Jaxson Baxter came to an end, his Legacy opponent, the Retribution Rumble winner, Cody Taylor came out and exchanged words with Rugani; the confrontation ended in Cody locking in his submission hold, only for Chance to escape using the bottom ropes. Two weeks later prior to defending, in the main event of Animosity, Brian James defeated Rugani after Cody prohibited Rugani from cheating to beat Brian, and then helped Brian defeat Rugani. After the match, Rugani announced that the former stablemates would team up to take himself and former WEW Champion Sophie Oliveira on in a Tag Team Match; a match which they would go on to lose after Sophie tapped out. At Legacy, Chance defeated Cody via pinfall. Feud with Brian James The week after Legacy, WEW hosted an Adrenaline SuperShow featuring both Adrenaline and Animosity Superstars. Early into the night, Chance cost Brian James a victory against Dolph Ziggler by interfering, and later on, Brian returned the favor by costing Chance his match against Cash Johnson. The following week for the WEW Draft, Chance defeated Cash for an Animosity draft selection while James watched on from the stage. Chance sat on commentary the next week while Brian faced former Universal Champion Vantage. Both men were knocked out on the outside floor and Chance took the liberty to throw them back into the ring; Brian went on to lose the match. Afterwards, Chance attacked Brian by hitting him over the head with a steel chair and then sitting in the chair. The following week, Chance defeated Rey Mysterio and it was announced that he and Brian James would have a Chicago Street Fight at WEW Crossroads for the WEW Championship. Chance went on to win the match after executing a frog splash off of the top of the titantron onto Brian James, who was set up on a table of tacks down below. After the match, while both men were being toted onto separate stretchers, Brian hopped off of his own and wheeled Chance off of the side stage and to the floor below before being wheeled out on the stretcher by his manager, Jessenia Gomez. Rugani was scheduled to return to the ring two weeks later, but he was ambushed at the start of the show by Brian James, and was forced to forfeit his main event match against WSG. The next week, Chance appeared backstage variously throughout the night leading up the main event, which was his girlfriend Sophie Oliveira facing off against James; a match where Sophie went on to win. Chance returned to in-ring action the following week in the main event alongside Sophie to defeat Angelica Monroe and his rival, James, in a tag team match. At the Beach Brawl pay-per-view, Chance defeated James in an Ironman Match to finally settle the rivalry and retain the WEW Championship. Daniel Ramelb and Feud with Chris McKenzie The week after Beach Brawl, Chance Rugani lost a non-title bout to Chris McKenzie on Animosity. Chairman of the Board, Daniel Ramelb, released a statement to officially make Chris McKenzie the #1 Contender to the WEW Championship, and also commented that he and the rest of the Board of Directors were not satisfied with Chance's work as the WEW President. Rugani would defeat The Broken Saint the following week in the main event, only to be interrupted by Chris McKenzie, who was broadcasting live from the backstage area; after cutting a promo, McKenzie set fire to a locker room that was presumed to be Chance's girlfriends, Sophie Oliveira, however it was confirmed later on the next night that Sophie wasn't in the room and that a blowup doll was used. The next week Chance and Sophie retaliated on Chris by kidnapping his manager and girlfriend, Paige Mitchell, which would end in Sophie hitting Paige over the skull with her Starlet Championship. Later on in the night Chance went on to pin McKenzie in a tag team match alongside Broken Saint, though Chance refused to tag Saint in. Chance went on to be defeated by Bob Hart the following week. Rugani lost the WEW Championship to McKenzie at the Third Degree Burns pay-per-view in an Inferno Match. Rugani missed the next week of action and returned the following week, on the November 12 edition of Animosity to announce that he scheduled his rematch against Chris McKenzie to be in a steel cage for the next Animosity, and also to relinquish his position as WEW President. Rugani regained the WEW Championship on the 50th Episode celebration of Animosity, making him the first man to hold the WEW Championship on more than one occasion. The following week, Rugani defeated SM Raye in the main event of Animosity. At the Free Fall to Fury pay-per-view, Rugani defeated McKenzie yet again, this time in a Scaffolding Match, to retain the WEW Championship and end the rivalry. Feud Revival with Brian James On the Animosity following the Free Fall to Fury pay-per-view, a main event match between Charlie Luzon and Chance Rugani was interrupted by The Nation of Prominence, a stable led by Rugani's former rival, Brian James. The stable attacked both Luzon and Rugani, rendering the match a no contest. Earlier in the night, the Nation of Prominence were informed that they would face a mystery tag team on the following weeks show; after the events that transpired in the main event, it was announced, on the January 7th edition of Animosity by the guest host and former PPV performer, Nicki Minaj, that that tag team would be none other than Luzon and Rugani. Also on the January 7th edition of Animosity, early in the night, Chance ruined Brian James marriage proposal to Felicia Johnson when he came out and attacked James. Later on, James sought retaliation and got it by attacking Rugani with his Nation of Prominence stable before Chance could make his way out for the main event match. The following week, Rugani got payback by attacking and incapacitating James during one of The Nation of Prominence's matches. However, their retaliation from this was to interfere in Chance's championship match against Adam Banz, causing him to lose the title to Banz. Heel Turn & Feud with Adam Banz After his title lost to Adam Banz, a visibly irritated Rugani slammed WEW, his coworkers, and the fans in a backstage interview and proclaimed to quit right after the interview. Weeks later at the Cyberslam pay-per-view, where Banz faced Brian James for the WEW Championship, Rugani caused the match to end in a No Contest following his surprise return where he attacked both competitors and hijacked the WEW Championship belt. Rugani made one appearance on Animosity two weeks after the event and proclaimed that he would ask for his rematch when he was ready and then introduced the driving force that fueled his decision to come back to WEW - his father, Lucifer Rugani. After that, Rugani was not seen on WEW television, and neither was the WEW Championship. Finally, on the night of the Shattered Dreams pay-per-view, after being called out twice by Adam Banz throughout the night, Chance made his return with the WEW Championship in tote and announced to Banz that he was implementing his rematch clause for the following Animosity with the stipulation of a Barbed Wire Cage match. The following week on Animosity, Rugani defeated Banz to become a three-time WEW Champion. Post-match, Ruganis former rival, Chris McKenzie, approached the ring and had a long stare-off with him before attacking Adam Banz, hinting at another possible feud between the two. The next week on Animosity, Banz attacked Rugani during an opening promo and stole the WEW Championship, mimicking what Rugani had done to him during his own reign. However, later on in the main event, a masked intruder cost Banz his match against Chris McKenzie before stealing back the WEW Championship and revealing himself to be none other than Dexter Black, a new ally to Chance Rugani. A week later, Chance and Sophie Oliveira reunited as a tag team to defeat Banz and Sophie's number one contender, Astor Lane. At the Super Animosity event, Rugani was defeated in a Champion versus Champion match by Adrenaline's World Champion, Shady Layne, via submission. Earlier in the night, Rugani cost Banz a match against Adrian Jobs when his entrance music accidentally played, distracting Banz and allowing Jobs to lock in his submission move. At Battlefield, in the midst of the match, Chris McKenzie came out and attacked Banz, therefore ending the match in a disqualification. Afterwards, Rugani and McKenzie confronted each other once more before unveiling an alliance with each other via handshake, which would lead to Dexter Black, Sophie Oliveira, and Karolina Graf emerging onto the stage and revealing themselves to be in the alliance as well. The New Regime; Feud with Brian James & the Nation of Prominence On the Animosity after Battlefield, Rugani, along with Sophie Oliveira, made an in-ring presentation of his newest stable, The New Regime, and announced their goals to take over every championship on Animosity and reshape Animosity to once again be WEW's top brand. The stable consisted of the tag team INKED (Oliveira & Karolina Graf), Dexter Black, Chris McKenzie, and Lucifer Rugani as their leader Chance Rugani's manager. Later on that night in the main event, Rugani, Black, and McKenzie defeated Vantage, Jason Church, and Kevin Hunter when McKenzie blind tagged himself into the match and pinned Hunter. The following week, Rugani defeated Adam Banz in his rematch for the WEW Championship. After the match, The New Regime attacked and injured Banz out of competition. The following week, during a scheduled tag team match between Brian James and Astor Lane against Sophie Oliveira and Dexter Black, the New Regime in entirety showed up and attacked Lane and James. At the Retribution pay-per-view, and during an Aftermath segment, Chance announced that he would face Brian James at Legacy: Hawaii only if he defeated a member of the New Regime in one of the four weeks leading up to Legacy. He also added the stipulation that, should James' be successful in defeating the New Regime members, James' would also have to put his Universal Championship on the line. Rugani made his in-ring return to Animosity in the opening contest, a tag team match in which he and Sophie Oliveira defeated Chris Cane and Shannon Treamon. Rugani extended an Open Challenge to the Animosity roster for the following week, and stated that if anyone defeated him, he would give them a WEW Championship shot. That next week, following a series of unfortunate events, Dexter Black lost to Brian James, granting Brian James a match at Legacy: Hawaii for the WEW Championship; Rugani came out to berate Black and was attacked by Brian James. Animosity's General Manager, Jayceon Taylor, came out to announce that Rugani's opponent for the Open Challenge was Vantage. Vantage took advantage of the attacked Rugani to win the match and secure himself a WEW Championship shot for the next week in a Last Man Standing Match; a match which Rugani was victorious in to retain the WEW Championship. In the midst of this, it was announced that James' match against Rugani at Legacy would be his last championship match against Chance should he lose. The following week, after Chris McKenzie defeated Brian James in the main event of Animosity, Rugani attempted to attack James yet again by executing his "Last Chance" finisher through all of the Animosity championships; however, his attack was thwarted by the Nation of Prominence and Chance ended up being power bombed into all of the Animosity championships by James. Universal Champion; Various Feuds & Hiatus At Legacy: Hawaii, Rugani defeated Brian to retain the WEW Championship and win the Universal Championship in a "Winner Take All" match, his first reign with the title; as part of the stipulation, Brian James would no longer be eligible to challenge for the WEW Championship during Chance's reign. Post-match, The Broken Saint made his WEW return after having a heart attack months before and attacked Rugani. At the 2013 Beach Brawl event, Rugani successfully defended his championship against Saint. That same night, Rugani and Dexter Black turned on their New Regime partner, Chris McKenzie, after weeks of dissension. A triple threat match was scheduled to take place for Rugani's Universal Championship; however, once the bell rang, it became a two-on-one attack by Chance and Dexter to solidify that McKenzie was no longer in their alliance. Black would go in to win the match via pinning McKenzie. McKenzie and Chance would engage in a month-long feud before McKenzie then defeated Chance at the Crossroads pay-per-view to become WEW Champion. Following McKenzie's win, Chance would take time off of WEW to tend to his real life. He and his fiancee, Sophie Oliveira, got married on January 10th and a few short months later Sophie gave birth to their son on April 12th. Brief Return & Hiatus At the 2014 Retribution event, Rugani made a return appearance to address the state of the Elitists division on Animosity. He was then interrupted by his ally, Rhiannon, who made the claim that she could provide a challenge for him; Rugani, however, rejected her challenge. Rugani made his in-ring return against Chris Dunn and successfully defeated him. Wrestling Information *'Finishing Moves' **Last Chance (Diving/Rolling Fireman's Carry Slam) **Critical Finish (Belly to Back Inverted Mat Slam, sometimes from the second rope) *'Trademark Moves' **Final Touch (Top Rope Moonsault) *'Signature Moves' **Running Corkscrew Neckbreaker **Running Knee Smash into Seated Opponent **Chop Block **Spear **Spinebuster **European Uppercut **Baseball Slide **Full Nelson Facebuster **Snap Powerbomb **Diving Clothesline *'Entrance Music' **"Last Resort," by Papa Roach (PWI, early-WEW) **"Beat You Down," by Downstait (WEW) **"Hero" by Skillet (WEW) **"Say It To My Face" by Downstait (WEW) *'Nicknames' **The Ultimate Elitist **The Most Athletically Gifted Man In Sports Entertainment **Mr. WEW **The Original Elitist **Hardcore Headliner *'Catchphrases' **"Bow down or be beaten down." *'Managers' **Sophie Oliveria (WEW) **Lucifer Rugani (WEW) Championships and Accomplishments World Elite Wrestling *WEW Champion (3 times) *WEW Universal Champion (1 time) *WEW President (January 22, 2012–November 12, 2012) * Ranked #1 on the WEW Top 10 Greatest Elitists Ever * Ranked #2 on the WEW Top 10 Greatest Superstars of the Decade ('10-'20) * Ranked #2 on the WEW Top 10 Greatest Championship Reigns Ever (as WEW Champion) * Ranked #4 on the WEW Top 10 Greatest Undefeated Streaks Ever (for the most consecutive PPV wins in singles competition by appearance 5) * Ranked #8 on the WEW Top 10 Greatest Undefeated Streaks Ever (for a record 2-0 in WEW Legacy main events) WEW Awards The WEW Awards were awards given out annually by World Elite Wrestling to celebrate members of its roster. Part of the awards were awarded to Superstars via an exclusive voting committee while the other half are fan voted (the Viewer's Choice Awards). Chance won twelve awards (eleven categories) out of thirty-three nominations, excluding two Out Of Character nominations. One win was also a tie for 2013's Couple of the Year. Personal life Rugani is mixed with Brazilian and Caucasian descent. His father, who is Brazilian, was adopted by an Italian couple, thus the last name Rugani. When his father and mother were married, his mother, an American, took his father's adopted last name. Rugani had an older brother, Bryce, who was killed after a wrestling accident with Chance at the age of 15; Chance was 13 at the time. He also has a younger sister, Aria. After the death of his brother, which was ruled as accidental, Chance was sent to a juvenile detention center in Brazil for involuntary manslaughter with the minimum sentence of two years. Chance's father abandoned the family soon after, unable to cope with losing both of his sons. When Chance was released, he was taken in by his father's brother after his mother gave up custody to him. Chance notes it as being a dark time in his childhood and what pushed him to either become a wrestler or join the military so that he could get away from his home as much as possible. In mid-2012, Chance was contacted by his father, and then he was informed about the existence of his half-brother, Christian Riley Rugani, who was an Indy wrestler in Brazil looking to make his break in America. Sometime between then and early 2013, Rugani's father came to America to reconcile with Chance, and soon became his wrestling manager and the drive behind his second heel turn. Chance has been involved in a relationship with Sophie Oliveira since June 2011; their relationship as an on and off screen couple garnered much attention during their stint with World Elite Wrestling, becoming the record-setting three time Couple of the Year Award winners. In popular culture, the duo have often been referred to by the supercouple portmanteau "Chophie." On January 10, 2014, Chance and Sophie married and on April 12, 2014, their son, Trace Kaiden Rugani, was born. In 2017, Rugani was the Best Man for Dexter Black's wedding to Angelina von Pierce. In 2019, it was revealed that Rugani is the godfather to Black and von Pierce's son. Other Media It was officially announced March 26, 2012 that Rugani would be in the WEW: The Game, featuring a preloaded storyline titled "Conspiracy" which follows Chance's former rival, Jaxson Baxter. When the game was released in November 2013, Rugani was one of the dual-edition cover stars. Rugani also had an official WEW action figure released as apart of the "Elite Series #1" which featured the WEW Championship belt. External links * The New Regime's eWikia Category:Trainers Category:StarrDome trainer Category:WEW Category:World Elite Wrestling Category:Male character Category:Male professional wrestlers Category:WEW Champion Category:WEW Award Winner Category:Retired wrestlers